View full sizeLance Armstrong throws out his water bottle in the last kilometers of the climb toward Station les Rousses, France, during the seventh stage of the 2010 Tour de France cycling race. The Associated Press

Our top stories tonight include:

FIGHTING IN MALI: The battle to retake Mali’s north from the al-Qaida-linked groups controlling it began in earnest Saturday, after hundreds of French forces deployed to the country and began aerial bombardments to drive back the Islamic extremists from a town seized earlier this week. Nations in West Africa also authorized the immediate deployment of troops to Mali, fast-forwarding a military intervention that was not due to start until September.

RAID IN SOMALIA: A raid to free a French intelligence agent held captive in Somalia for three years goes horrifically wrong, leaving 17 Islamists and at least one French commando dead. In the aftermath of the chaotic firefight, the hostage’s fate was unclear. The Islamists deny French claims that he was killed and say they have a new prisoner — a wounded French soldier. The botched rescue in East Africa comes the same day French airstrikes in the West African nation of Mali targeted resurgent rebel Islamists.

SUPERSTORM AID: Conservatives and watchdog groups are mounting a “not-so-fast” campaign against a $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package that Northeastern governors and lawmakers hope to push through the House this coming week. Their complaint is that lots of that money actually will go toward recovery efforts for past disasters and other projects unrelated to the storm. The objections have led senior House Republicans to assemble a $17 billion proposal — less than half what the president sought and the Senate passed in December — while also letting lawmakers vote on adding $33 billion more. House Speaker John Boehner is trying to respond both to conservatives opposed to more deficit spending and to governors irate the House hasn’t acted sooner.

LANCE ARMSTRONG INTERVIEW: Lance Armstrong will make a limited confession to doping during his televised interview with Oprah Winfrey next week, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Armstrong, who has long denied doping, will also offer an apology during the interview scheduled to be taped Monday at his home in Austin. While not directly saying he would confess or apologize, Armstrong sent a text message to The Associated Press early Saturday that said: “I told her (Winfrey) to go wherever she wants and I’ll answer the questions directly, honestly and candidly. That’s all I can say.”

FLU SHOTS AND HEALTH WORKERS: Patients can refuse a flu shot. Should doctors and nurses have that right, too? That is the thorny question surfacing as U.S. hospitals increasingly crack down on employees who won’t get flu shots, with some workers losing their jobs over their refusal. Hospitals’ get-tougher measures coincide with an earlier-than-usual flu season hitting harder than in recent mild seasons.

AARON SWARTZ DIES: A co-founder of Reddit and activist who fought to make online content free to the public has been found dead, authorities confirmed, prompting an outpouring of grief from prominent voices on the intersection of free speech and the Web. Aaron Swartz, 26, hanged himself in his Brooklyn apartment weeks before he was to go on trial on accusations that he stole millions of journal articles from an electronic archive in an attempt to make them freely available.

OBAMA'S INAUGURATION: President Barack Obama’s second inauguration is shaping up as a high-energy celebration smaller than his first milestone swearing-in, yet still designed to mark his unprecedented role in American history with plenty of eye-catching glamour.

LOTTERY WINNER HAD FAMILY TROUBLE: In the week since news surfaced that a Chicago man was poisoned to death with cyanide just before he was to collect a lottery payout, surprising details about his convoluted family saga have trickled out daily. Urooj Khan’s widow and siblings fought for months over the businessman’s estate, including the lottery check. His father-in-law owed tens of thousands of dollars in taxes. His 17-year-old daughter from a previous marriage had moved out of her stepmom’s home and into his sister’s after his death. Then his ex-wife came forward, announcing in anguish that she hadn’t seen her daughter in more than a decade and hadn’t even known she was still in the U.S.

SPORTS WORLD PITCHES IN AFTER NEWTOWN SHOOTING: Officials in Newtown, Conn., say the sports world has played a large role in helping this community start to heal after last month’s elementary school massacre, whether it was visits from soccer stars Mia Hamm and Landon Donovan, New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz coming to play tag football with the family and friends of a victim who was buried in a Giants jersey, or gymnast Aly Raisman getting on some mats and helping kids do somersaults.

A SMALL TOWN'S RAPE SAGA: Shortly after Police Chief William McCafferty arrived at the office one day this week, he found an email from someone claiming to be a hacker from Ontario with a tip. Moments later, a warning message popped up, and the chief’s computer was disabled. That and other online attention, including threats, are casting a shadow on the criminal investigation into the alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl at a party last summer by two local football players, a case that is getting national attention after blogger activists alleged a cover-up in this downtrodden city where the football team is a rare source of pride.